Tile and fixture mounting



Jan. 21, 1930. w WEBSTER TILE AND FIXTURE MOUNTING I Filed June 14, 1928Patented Jan. 21, 1930 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE" WILLIAM G. WEBSTER,OF CHICAGO, ILLINOIS, ASSIGNOR, BYIYIESNE ASSIGNMENTS,

TO PORCELAIN TILE COMPANY, OF CHICAGO, ILLINOIS, A CORPORATION OF ILLI-NOIS TILE AND FIXTURE MOUNTING Application filed June 14,

My invention relates to means for mounting fixtures and the like, as,for example, bathroom fixtures including soap trays, cup holders, andthe like in connection with the mounting of the tile on the wall of aroom and has for its principal objects the provision of a novel means ofsecuring the fixtures whereby they may be rigidly and strongly mountedupon the supporting wall back of the tile and the tile applied aroundthe fixtures so as to conceal the securing means for the fixturesbeneath the tile and make a smooth pleasing finish about the fixture.

It is also a purpose of this invention to provide means for mounting thefixtures which may readily be applied to either a supporting frameworkin the erection of new buildings or to the old walls where the walls ofthe rooms are being refinished and covered with tile.

A particular object of the invention is to provide a safe and sightlymeans of incorporating fixtures and the like into the type of tiled walldisclosed in the Haines Patent N o. 1,59%,614.

I accomplish the above mentioned purposes by certain cooperatingfeatures which will here in after he described in full without the useof cement in securing the fixtures so that there is no danger of thefixtures becoming loosened due to cracking of the cement or mortar asoften occurs when the fixtures are mounted in a bed of mortar which isin turn secured in the supporting wall by means of a box or otherconstruction.

Other objects and advantages of the invention will appear as thedescription proceeds in connection with the accompanying drawingswherein one prefer-red form of the invention is disclosed. However, itis to be dis tinctly understood that I do not intend to limit myself tothe exact details shown and described, but that I intend to avail myselfof all such modifications as would occur to one skilled in this art andas fall within the scope of the claims.

In the drawings:

Fig. 1 is a side view of a section of the wall with parts thereof brokenaway for the sake of clearness and illustrating the way in 1928. SerialNo. 285,282.

which the fixture appears from within the Referring now in detail to thedrawings,

the numeral 5 indicates a s'upportingwall of a room which'may be eitherthe original rough wall put up in the first construction or an old wallwhich is to be refinished by having the tile applied thereto. Thenumeral t; represents a fixture which in the present instance is a soaptray of the kind commonly used for mounting in the wall by theside of abath tub and has the handle7 to assist one in rising in the bath tub toa standing position and which has the recess 8 for holding soap. Thisfixture, because of its peculiar shape, requires the provision of therecess 9 in the supporting wall which, however, is not necessary inother fixtures which do not set into the wall but instead projectoutwardly therefrom and in connection with such fixtures it would, ofcourse, not be necessary to provide the opening 9 in the supporting wall5.

The fixtures are provided with a substantially rectangular base portion10 which is adapted to fit against the wall 5 and which has projectinglaterally therefrom the mounting members 11 and 12 which are ofconsiderably less thickness than the rectangular portion 10 and whichalso lie flat against the supporting wall 5. Screws 1?) and 14 or othersuitable means maybe utilizedto secure the projections 11 and 12 solidlyto the supporting wall so that the fixture cannot be loosened from thewall in the ordinary use therein. In mounting the tile aboutthe fixture6, I preferably employ a foundation sheet 15 which may be of any of theseveral types of wooden substance now on the market in sheet form, as,"for example, the foundation sheet shown in the'Haines Patent No.1,594,614. The foundation sheet is provided with means to facilitate theproper location of tile thereon, said means consisting ofguidance-formations arranged in parallel lines and similarguidance-formations intersecting the other guidance-formations. In thispresent instance, these guidance-formations consist of grooves 16 forreception ofthe flanged edges 17 of the tile 18. The foundation sheetmay be secured to the supporting wall by nailing or in some othersuitable manner. The foundation sheet 15 has a cut away portioncorresponding in contour to the contour of the rectangular portion 10 ofthe fixture and has notches such as indicated at 19 into which theprojections 11 and 12 extend. As will be evident from the drawings, theopening in the foundation sheet for the reception of the base 10 of thefixture is so formed that it coincides with certain of the intersectinggrooves 16.

The rectangular portion 10 of the fixture is preferably of suchdimensions as to correspond in width and length to the standarddimensions of themetallic tile 18. These tile in the standard productionare square or oblong in shape, being usually three inches squares orthree by six inch rectangles. As shown, the tile in the present instanceare of the square type and the rectangular portion 10 of the fixture hasa surface equivalent to that of four such tile. As will be evident fromFig; 2, the thickness of the base portion 10 of the fixture is equal tothe thickness of the founadtion sheet 15 and the tile cemented thereto,consequently the base 10 is flush with the tiled surface.

In mounting the tile about the fixture and over the wall of the room, asuitable cement 20 is applied to the foundation sheet 15 and i of thefixture is'exposed.

the tile are then pressed into position with the flanges 17 extendingdown into the grooves 16. Owing to the fact that the mem bers 11 and 12are of considerably less thickness than the foundation sheet 15 and theportion 10 of the fixture, the tile may project over these members andfit snugly up against the edges of the fixture' as illustrated at 21 and22 in Fig. 2 so that when the tile are in position the entire securingmeans of the fixture is concealed thereby and only the face Also, sinceneither the tile nor the foundation sheet supporting it carry any of theweight or strain of the fixture, the latter is not liable to be tornaway and the tiled surface seriously damaged, as

' would be the case were the fixture attached to the foundation sheet. 1

It will be noted that the entire mounting I of the fixture isaccomplished without the use of cement or motar while at the same timethe fixture is secured to the supporting wall in such a manner that itcan be readily secured as firmly as is necessary in view of its intendeduse and the tile thereafter applied over the fixture immediately withoutwaiting for any mortar or cement setting )Jherefor to dr I lhis isparticularly useful in connection with refinishing of old walls since itpermits the work of applying the tile to the wall to go on uninterruptedwithout waiting for the fixture to become set before building the tilearound it. Also, if at any time the fixture becomes broken or needsreplacement,

.it is only necessary to remove three or four art and having thusdescribed the invention what I claim as new and desire to secure byLetters Patent is:

, 1. A tile wall and fixture construction comprising a supporting wall,a fixture having a rectangular base adapted to rest against said wall, asecuring member integral with said rectangular portion and projectinglaterally from said portion along said wall and secured thereto, afoundation sheet secured to the wall and having an aperture therein inwhich said base fits, and a plurality of tile abutting said rectangularbase and secured to said foundation sheet, said member being of lessthickness than said base and being concealed beneath said tile.

2. In construction of the character described, a supporting wall, afoundation sheet secured thereto, said sheet having an aperture therein,a fixture having a rectangular base fitting in said aperture, laterallyprojecting means on said base secured to said a portion thereof cut awayalong said grooves to form a recess generally rectangular in shapeandhaving a notched portion outside the rectangular portion, a fixturehaving a rectangular base seated in said recess and a securing portionextending into said notched portion and secured to said wall, andrectangular metal tile having flanged edges seated in said grooves andabutting said base, said tile extending over and concealing saidsecuring portion.

4. In construction of the character described, a supporting wall, afoundation sheet secured thereto, said sheet having guidanceformationsarranged in parallel lines on its outer surface, and similarguidance-formations intersecting the other guidance-formations, saidsheet havin 'a portion thereof enclosed within certain of theintersecting guidance-formations cut away to form a generallyrectangular opening, said sheet being also cut away to provide a notchadjacent to said opening, a fixture having a rectangular base seated insaid opening and a securing portion extending into said notch andsecured to the wall, and rectangular metal tile covering said foundationsheet and having locating portions. engaging said guidance-formations,the outer surface of said base being flush with the outer surface ofsaid tile, and said securing portion being of such relative thinness asto extend beneath the tile.

,5. In construction of the character described, a supportin structure, afixture having a base, a plura ity of securing portions projecting fromsaid base and secured to said structure, and a multiplicity of tilesecured to and covering said structure and fitting around said base,said securing portions being of such relative thinness as to extendbeneath the ti e.

In witness whereof, I hereunto subscribe my name this 6th day of J une,A. D. 1928.

WILLIAM G. WEBSTER.

